Apple introduces iPhone 14 & iPhone 14 Plus
By Shawn Chung - Singapore
With the iPhone 14, Apple has ditched the Mini format and added a Plus size companion to the iPhone 14, as well as a Far Out Satellite SOS feature.
With the iPhone 14 Plus, Apple has added a 6.7-inch size to the regular 6.1-inch design, and both devices have the same internals - A15 bionic chip with 5-core GPU, updated camera dual-camera with Photonic engine. But what really intrigues us is the enhanced Crash Detection feature with emergency SOS via satellite, so you can send a quick SOS message from anywhere in the world.
Crash Detection is the latest safety feature that Apple has added to the iPhone 14 and Watch Series 8, but for the iPhone 14 family, the feature is further enhanced by emergency SOS, which now has satellite connectivity, so you can call for help when you have an accident in your backyard, or when you’re hiking in the back of beyond, away from cellular networks.
Pre-orders for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus begin Friday, September 9, with availability for iPhone 14 beginning Friday, September 16, and availability for iPhone 14 Plus beginning Friday, October 7. Both the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus feature a durable and sleek aerospace-grade aluminum design and an updated internal layout for better thermal performance, gorgeous Super Retina XDR displays with OLED technology that supports 1200 nits of peak HDR brightness, a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and Dolby Vision.
iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus also feature the durable Ceramic Shield front cover — exclusive to iPhone and tougher than any other smartphone glass — and are protected from common spills and accidents with water and dust resistance.
Powerful Camera Upgrades Enabled by Photonic Engine
iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus introduce a new standard for photo and video capture with a new 12MP Main camera featuring a larger sensor and larger pixels, a new front TrueDepth camera, the Ultra Wide camera to capture more of a scene, and Photonic Engine for a giant leap in low-light performance.
Through a deep integration of hardware and software, Photonic Engine improves mid- to low-light performance for photos across all cameras: up to 2x on the Ultra Wide camera, 2x on the TrueDepth camera, and an impressive 2.5x on the new Main camera. Photonic Engine enables this dramatic increase in quality by applying the computational benefits of Deep Fusion earlier in the imaging process to deliver extraordinary detail, preserve subtle textures, provide better color, and maintain more information in a photo.
Dual-camera system upgrades and features include:
A new Main camera with a larger ƒ/1.5 aperture and 1.9 µm pixels, enabling photo and video improvements in all lighting scenarios for better detail and motion freezing, less noise, faster exposure times, and sensor-shift optical image stabilization.
A new front TrueDepth camera with an ƒ/1.9 aperture that enables better low-light performance for photos and video. Using autofocus for the first time, it can focus even faster in low light and capture group shots from farther away.
A new Action mode for incredibly smooth-looking video that adjusts to significant shakes, motion, and vibrations, even when video is being captured in the middle of the action.
The Ultra Wide camera, offering a unique perspective for wider shots and improvements to low-light photos with Photonic Engine.
An improved True Tone flash that is 10 percent brighter and has better uniformity for more consistent lighting.
Cinematic mode, now available in 4K at 30 fps and 4K at 24 fps.
End-to-end Dolby Vision HDR, available only on iPhone.
Crash Detection and Emergency SOS via Satellite
The entire iPhone 14 lineup introduces enhanced safety capabilities that can provide emergency assistance anywhere. With a new dual-core accelerometer capable of detecting G-force measurements of up to 256Gs and a new high dynamic range gyroscope, Crash Detection on iPhone can now detect a severe car crash and automatically dial emergency services when a user is unconscious or unable to reach their iPhone.
Emergency SOS via satellite, combines custom components deeply integrated with software to allow antennas to connect directly to a satellite, enabling messaging with emergency services when outside of cellular or Wi-Fi coverage. Satellites are moving targets with low bandwidth, and it can take minutes for messages to get through. Since every second counts, with Emergency SOS via satellite, the iPhone 14 front-loads a few vital questions to assess the user’s situation, and shows them where to point their phone to connect to a satellite. The initial questionnaire and follow-up messages are then relayed to centers staffed by Apple‑trained specialists who can call for help on the user’s behalf. This breakthrough technology also allows users to manually share their location over satellite with Find My when there is no cellular or Wi-Fi connection, providing a sense of security when hiking or camping off the grid. Emergency SOS via satellite will be available to users in the US and Canada in November, and the service will be free for two years.
A15 Bionic: A Powerhouse with a 5-Core GPU
A15 Bionic brings incredible performance to iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. Still faster than all the competition at any price, the 5-core GPU enables even smoother graphics for video apps and high-performance gaming, and powers incredible camera features like Photonic Engine and Cinematic mode, all while delivering impressive battery life, and protecting privacy and security with the Secure Enclave. The 6-core CPU handles demanding tasks smoothly and efficiently, and the 16-core Neural Engine is capable of 15.8 trillion operations per second, enabling even faster machine learning computations for features in iOS 16 and third-party app experiences.
Powerful Connection Capabilities
iPhone offers users super-fast downloads and uploads, better streaming, and real-time connectivity with 5G to help them stay in touch, share, and enjoy content. Support for 5G on iPhone now extends to over 250 carrier partners in over 70 markets around the world, with expanded support for standalone networks. eSIM allows users to easily connect or quickly transfer their existing plans digitally, is a more secure alternative to a physical SIM card, and allows for multiple cellular plans on a single device. iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus remove the SIM tray for US models, enabling users to more quickly and easily set up their devices.
Apple Fitness+ for All iPhone Users
Later this fall, for the first time ever, Apple Fitness+ will be available for all iPhone users to subscribe to and enjoy in the 21 countries it is offered in, even if they don’t have an Apple Watch. iPhone users will have access to the entire service featuring over 3,000 studio-style workouts and meditations, all led by a diverse and inclusive team of trainers. Fitness+ users will see onscreen trainer guidance and interval timing, and estimated calories burned will be used to make progress on their Move ring. Fitness+ will be fully integrated with the Fitness app coming with iOS 16 and located in the middle tab, where users can stay motivated to close their Move ring through awards, activity sharing, and more. Users only need an iPhone to sign up, and can then experience Fitness+ on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.
Featuring iOS 16
iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus feature iOS 16, offering a reimagined Lock Screen along with new communication, sharing, and intelligence features that together change the way users experience iPhone. The Lock Screen is more personal, beautiful, and helpful than ever with a multilayered effect that artfully sets subjects of photos in front of the time, and newly designed widgets that offer information at a glance. For Lock Screen inspiration, the wallpaper gallery offers a range of options, including Apple collections, a Weather wallpaper to see live weather conditions as they change throughout the day, an Astronomy wallpaper for views of the Earth, moon, and solar system, and many more. With Messages, users can now edit or recall recently sent messages, and mark conversations as unread to revisit them later. iCloud Shared Photo Library makes it even easier to share a collection of photos with family. Live Text gets more powerful with the ability to recognize text in video and quickly convert currency, translate text, and more, and Visual Look Up adds a new feature that allows users to tap and hold on the subject of an image to lift it from the background and place it in apps like Messages.
iPhone and the Environment
iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are designed to minimize their impact on the environment, including antenna lines that use upcycled plastic water bottles that have been chemically transformed into a stronger, higher-performance material. iPhone 14 models also use 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets, including those used in MagSafe, and 100 percent recycled tungsten in the Taptic Engine. Both models also include 100 percent recycled tin in the solder of multiple printed circuit boards, and 100 percent recycled gold in the plating of multiple printed circuit boards and in the wire of all cameras. Fiber-based packaging does not use outer plastic wrap, bringing Apple closer to its goal of completely removing plastic from all packaging by 2025.
Today, Apple is carbon neutral for global corporate operations, and by 2030, plans to be 100 percent carbon neutral across its entire manufacturing supply chain and all product life cycles. This means that every Apple device sold, from component manufacturing, assembly, transport, customer use, charging, all the way through recycling and material recovery, will have net-zero climate impact.
Pricing and Availability
iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus will be available in midnight, blue, starlight, purple, and (PRODUCT)RED in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage capacities.
Customers in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, the UAE, the UK, the US, and more than 30 other countries and regions will be able to pre-order iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus beginning at 5 a.m. PDT on Friday, September 9, with iPhone 14 availability beginning Friday, September 16, and iPhone 14 Plus beginning Friday, October 7.
iPhone 14 will be available in Malaysia, Turkey, and 20 other countries and regions beginning Friday, September 23.
Emergency SOS via satellite will be available starting in the US and Canada in November, and the service will be included for free for two years with the activation of iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus.
Customers can get iPhone 14 for $33.29 (US) a month for 24 months or $799 (US) before trade-in, and iPhone 14 Plus for $37.45 (US) a month for 24 months or $899 (US) before trade-in from apple.com/store, in the Apple Store app, and at Apple Store locations. iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are also available through Apple Authorized Resellers and select carriers.12
Customers can save up to $800 (US) on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus after trade-in directly from apple.com/store or at an Apple Store when they activate it with select US carriers. Terms apply. For eligibility requirements and more details, see apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/carrier-offers. Pricing for iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus includes a $30 (US) carrier instant discount that requires carrier activation.
Customers in the US can get ready for iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus pre-orders until 10 p.m. PDT on Thursday, September 8, by visiting apple.com/store or using the Apple Store app. They can choose to pay monthly or in full, add a trade-in credit toward their new iPhone, or upgrade through the iPhone Upgrade Program.
iOS 16 will be available as a free software update on Monday, September 12.
Customers who purchase iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus will receive three free months of Apple Arcade with a new subscription.
Leather Wallet with MagSafe and iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus Leather Cases will be available in five new colors: midnight, forest green, ink, umber, and orange. iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus Clear Case and Silicone Cases will be available in midnight, storm blue, red, chalk pink, lilac, elderberry, succulent, and sunglow.